VOA标准英语2008年-High Oil Prices Drive Search for New Fuels

With rising oil prices inflating¹ the cost of almost everything, people are looking for other ways to power vehicles, and even for alternatives to vehicles. In this report, VOA's Kent Klein looks at ways to end the era of expensive fuel. (Part 5 of 5)

Ten or 20 years from now, the car you drive or the bus you ride may be powered by something other than gasoline.

The soaring price of petroleum² is adding new urgency to efforts to build vehicles that run on cheaper, cleaner fuel.
　
Toyota Prius hybrid³ car

Hybrids⁴ are one step in that direction. For example, the Toyota Prius runs on gasoline with help from an electric motor.

Ron Smith is a Toyota salesman in Los Angeles, where the Prius is especially popular. "We get two or three a day, and they are usually spoken for before they come in," said Smith. "And as soon as they come in, we have salesmen fighting for who is going to sell it to who. That is a good position to be in."

Smith says the Prius has become a status symbol for people who want to show support for the environment. More than one million have been sold since 1997. But experts say the hybrid is just an interim⁵ step on the way to vehicles that use no petroleum-based fuel at all.
　
The Chevy Volt⁶, an entirely⁷ electric automobile⁸

General Motors is hoping that the Chevrolet Volt, powered mostly by electricity, will someday boost sales for its company. G.M. plans to put the Volt on the market in 2010, or as soon as an affordable⁹ lithium-ion battery can be developed.

Some of that research is taking place at Argonne National Laboratory, near Chicago, where Don Hillebrand directs the Center for Transportation Research.

"This will have the effect of driving the cost of gasoline down, because the demand will go down," said Don Hillebrand.
　
Honda FCX Clarity

Cars powered by hydrogen fuel cells are another option. In Japan, Honda has begun the first commercial production of a hydrogen fuel-cell car, the FCX Clarity. Todd Mittleman of American Honda explains how it works.

"It is a car that stores hydrogen on board, and, mixing the hydrogen and atmospheric¹⁰ oxygen in the fuel cell stack, creates electricity," said Mittleman. "So, in essence, it is an electric car."

There are very few places for drivers to refuel a hydrogen car, because there is no infrastructure¹¹ yet for distributing hydrogen. But Mittleman says hydrogen cars are worth the wait. "It is zero emissions¹², there is no carbon," he said. "And hydrogen is the most plentiful¹³ element in the universe."

Honda recently leased its first five hydrogen cars to celebrities¹⁴ in Los Angeles, and plans to put 200 more on the roads over three years.

If new kinds of engines are one solution, new fuels are another.

Biofuels like corn-based ethanol show promise. But corn farmers have been diverting their crops from food sales to ethanol production, and the price of corn-based food has spiked¹⁵.

So scientists are looking for other sources of ethanol. One is a grass called sorghum¹⁶. Bill Rooney runs the sorghum project at Texas A&M University. "If we are talking about a sugar platform, one that is very similar to sugar cane¹⁷, we can use sweet sorghums to do that in the very near future," said Rooney.

And then there is algae¹⁸. Its oil can be used for fuel. Algae can also help eliminate greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide, says David Baltensperger, who heads Texas A&M's Department of Soil and Crop Sciences. "We can pump excess CO2 from manufacturing processes or whatever into the ponds, and the algae converts it because it needs it for photosynthesizing," said Baltensperger.

And there are other ideas.

Indonesian researcher Dibyo Pranomo is a supporter of a fast-growing weed called jatropha. The seed is poisonous for humans. But it can be blended with gasoline or diesel¹⁹ fuel to make biofuel. Indonesia plans to have 10 million hectares of jatropha plantations²⁰ by 2009. And Air New Zealand will test a jet fuel made from jatropha later this year.

Of course, the cheapest alternative to gasoline may be to avoid burning fuel at all. Chuck Wilsker leads the Telework Coalition²¹, a nonprofit organization in Washington. It supports people who use technology - like computers and telephones - to work from someplace other than the office.

Wilsker has an office on Capitol Hill, but he conducts almost all of his business at his home 40 kilometers away. He says some 30 million Americans telecommute at least part-time, and that the number could reach 50 million within the next few years.

According to Wilsker, telework is an international movement.

"I have had calls from Israel, from people who were putting together telework groups," said Chuck Wilsker. "I had e-mails from Brazil, have had calls from France, have had calls from Finland - people around the world who are actually taking a look."

So the ultimate solution to the high cost of fuel may be a hybrid of new ways to power vehicles and innovative²² approaches to conserving²³ fuel.

 

1 inflating   

v.使充气（于轮胎、气球等）( inflate的现在分词 )；（使）膨胀；（使）通货膨胀；物价上涨

参考例句：

• I felt myself inflating slowly with rage, like a tyre. 我感到自己体内的怒气正慢慢膨胀，像一只轮胎那样。 来自互联网
• Many are already overheating, with prices rising and asset bubbles inflating. 随着物价日益上涨、资产泡沫膨胀，很多新兴国家经济已经过热。 来自互联网

2 petroleum   

n.原油，石油

参考例句：

• The Government of Iran advanced the price of petroleum last week.上星期伊朗政府提高了石油价格。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。

3 hybrid   

n.(动，植）杂种，混合物

参考例句：

• That is a hybrid perpetual rose.那是一株杂交的四季开花的蔷薇。
• The hybrid was tall,handsome,and intelligent.那混血儿高大、英俊、又聪明。

4 hybrids   

n.杂交生成的生物体( hybrid的名词复数 )；杂交植物（或动物）；杂种；（不同事物的）混合物

参考例句：

• All these brightly coloured hybrids are so lovely in the garden. 花园里所有这些色彩鲜艳的杂交花真美丽。 来自辞典例句
• The notion that interspecific hybrids are rare is ill-founded. 有一种看法认为种间杂种是罕见的，这种看法是无根据的。 来自辞典例句

5 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

6 volt   

n.伏特，伏

参考例句：

• You may use 100 and 110 volt appliances in your room.您可以在房间使用100及110伏特的电器。
• The common service voltage of electric power in our country is 220/380 volt.我国普通供电电压为220/380伏。

7 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

8 automobile   

n.汽车，机动车

参考例句：

• He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
• The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。

9 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

10 atmospheric   

adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的

参考例句：

• Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
• Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。

11 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

12 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

13 plentiful   

adj.富裕的，丰富的

参考例句：

• Their family has a plentiful harvest this year.他们家今年又丰收了。
• Rainfall is plentiful in the area.这个地区雨量充足。

14 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目

15 spiked   

adj.有穗的；成锥形的；有尖顶的

参考例句：

• The editor spiked the story. 编辑删去了这篇报道。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They wondered whether their drinks had been spiked. 他们有些疑惑自己的饮料里是否被偷偷搀了烈性酒。 来自辞典例句

16 sorghum   

n.高粱属的植物，高粱糖浆，甜得发腻的东西

参考例句：

• We can grow sorghum or maize on this plot.这块地可以种高粱或玉米。
• They made sorghum into pig feed.他们把高粱做成了猪饲料。

17 cane   

n.手杖，细长的茎，藤条；v.以杖击，以藤编制的

参考例句：

• This sugar cane is quite a sweet and juicy.这甘蔗既甜又多汁。
• English schoolmasters used to cane the boys as a punishment.英国小学老师过去常用教鞭打男学生作为惩罚。

18 algae   

n.水藻，海藻

参考例句：

• Most algae live in water.多数藻类生长在水中。
• Algae grow and spread quickly in the lake.湖中水藻滋蔓。

19 diesel   

n.柴油发动机，内燃机

参考例句：

• We experimented with diesel engines to drive the pumps.我们试着用柴油机来带动水泵。
• My tractor operates on diesel oil.我的那台拖拉机用柴油开动。

20 plantations   

n.种植园，大农场( plantation的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Soon great plantations, supported by slave labor, made some families very wealthy. 不久之后出现了依靠奴隶劳动的大庄园，使一些家庭成了富豪。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• Winterborne's contract was completed, and the plantations were deserted. 维恩特波恩的合同完成后，那片林地变得荒废了。 来自辞典例句

21 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

22 innovative   

adj.革新的，新颖的，富有革新精神的

参考例句：

• Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
• He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。

23 conserving   

v.保护，保藏，保存( conserve的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Contour planning with or without terracing is effective in conserving both soil and moisture. 顺等高线栽植，无论做或不做梯田对于保持水土都能有效。 来自辞典例句
• Economic savings, consistent with a conserving society and the public philosophy. 经济节约，符合创建节约型社会的公共理念。 来自互联网